Boeing will need to complete more 777-9 analysis and assuage regulatory concerns, including those related to design changes, prior to the US Federal Aviation Administration agreeing the jet is on track to meet certification requirements.
That is according to a recently released letter in which the FAA outlines concerns and says it is unlikely to issue the 777-9’s amended type certificate until mid- to late-2023. The given timeline does not mean a fresh delay for the 777-9 because, in January, Boeing pushed back its first planned 777-9 delivery until late 2023. The letter, dated 13 May, highlights changes Boeing is making to the 777-9 and mentions lack of clarity about progress toward certification in Europe. It says the FAA needs more information – including about a major software architecture called the “Common Core System” (CCS) – before considering the 777-9 to be on track to certification. Specifically, the FAA’s letter addresses the state of the 777-9’s “Type Inspection Authorisation” (TIA) – a milestone issued by the FAA when it determines that an aircraft “is expected to meet” certification requirements. “The FAA and Boeing have been discussing the TIA readiness of the Boeing Model 777-9 in numerous meetings over the past nine months,” says the letter. “Based on our assessment, the FAA considers that the aircraft is not yet ready for TIA, even if it is a phased TIA of limited scope with a small number of certification flight test plans proposed.” The letter was sent from the FAA’s Aviation Safety unit to Boeing staffer Tom Galantowicz, who administers the Chicago airframer’s 777-9 certification effort. The Seattle Times reported about the letter on 27 June. “The technical data required for type certification has not reached a point where it appears the aircraft type design is mature and can be expected to meet the applicable regulations,” the letter adds. “The Model 777-9 amended type certification date is realistically going to be mid- to late-2023.” Asked to comment, the FAA says it “will not approve any aircraft unless it meets our safety and certification standards”. Boeing “remains fully focused on safety as our highest priority throughout 777X development”, the company says. “As we subject the airplane to a comprehensive test programme to demonstrate its safety and reliability, we are working through a rigorous development process to ensure we meet all applicable requirements,” it adds. “We continue to communicate transparently with the FAA and other global regulators about 777-9 certification.” Boeing is working to certificate the 777-9 amid heightened regulatory scrutiny following the 737 Max disaster. The FAA’s letter says Boeing plans an “upcoming major software update” to the 777-9 that is intended to address “many” items, including a “fix for the uncommanded pitch event that occurred on December 8, 2020”. “After the uncommanded pitch event, the FAAis yet to see how Boeing fully implements all the corrective actions identified by the root-cause investigation,” the letter says. The FAA expects Boeing will complete a comprehensive review “and implement a robust process, so similar escape will not happen in the future and [so] this is not a systemic issue”. Details about that event were not disclosed. The 777-9 made its maiden flight in January 2020. Much of the letter’s focus rests on the 777-9’s CCS, which the letter says fails to meet “readiness requirements”. Boeing does not provide details. But in 2014 GE Aviation said it had been chosen by Boeing to provide the 777X’s CCS. GE Aviation did not respond to a request for comment. “The CCS is a very complex and critical avionics system,” the FAA’s letter says. “It is an integrated modular avionics architecture that provides a set of shared computing, networking and input/output resources.” The CCS system on the 777-9 marks a “significant change from the baseline 777-300ER,” the letter adds. It cites “lack of sufficient data” related to the CCS, and “lack of availability of a preliminary safety assessment for the FAA to review”. The agency cannot yet confirm the CCS “is mature and will provide only uncorrupted data”. It notes that Boeing’s proposed modifications to the 777-9’s design include “firmware and hardware changes to the actuator controls electrics of the flight control system”. Boeing chief executive David Calhoun disclosed in January that Boeing was making those types of design changes. The FAA still has “concern” about the modifications, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) “has not yet agreed on a way forward on the Model 777-9”, the letter says. “Boeing needs to ensure the changes do not introduce new, inadvertent failures.” It adds that “design maturity is in question, as design changes are on-going and potentially significant”. The letter asks Boeing’s Organisation Designation Authorization office – the company’s self-certification unit – to “close these gaps” before requesting that the FAA issue the Type Inspection Authorization. In early June, CEO Calhoun said Boeing remains “confident” that the 777-9 will be certificated in the fourth quarter of 2023. He said Boeing’s timeline incorporates lessons from the 737 Max’s re-certification and “the architectural preferences that both the FAA and the EASA has embedded in their regulations”. “We don’t have like a load of technical glitches and we don’t have a battery issue,” Calhoun added. “We don’t have that kind of stuff.”

Swiss will start introducing premium-economy seats on its Boeing 777 fleet during the fourth quarter in an effort to diversify its product offering amid an increased focus on leisure traffic in the aftermath of the pandemic. The Lufthansa subsidiary says it will install 24 premium-economy seats on each of its 777-300ERs in a layout which also includes eight first, 62 business and 226 economy seats. Before the reconfiguration, Swiss's 777-300ERs were fitted with 270 economy, 62 business and eight first-class seats – 20 seats more than in the new layout featuring premium economy. "In introducing its new premium-economy class, Swiss is further strengthening its premium positioning in the growing leisure travel segment," the carrier says. Chief executive Dieter Vranckx states that Swiss is meeting "growing demand for more privacy, more comfort and more individuality". Swiss is the last Lufthansa-owned network carrier to introduce premium economy. The German mainline introduced the fare category in 2014 and Austrian Airlines followed suit in 2017. Brussels Airlines has had premium economy seats on its long-haul fleet for some time, its website indicates. Lufthansa's low-cost arm Eurowings, meanwhile, offers a premium fare that is more akin to business class, including lie-flat seats on long-haul flights. Like Lufthansa and Austrian, Swiss has opted for premium-economy seats supplied by German manufacturer Zim Flugsitz. Zurich-based Swiss says, however, that the fixed-backshell seat has been newly developed and represents "latest-generation" premium economy design. Chief commercial officer Tamur Goudarzi Pour states: "Our new premium economy class is tailormade for our previous economy class customers who are looking to enhance their air travel experience and enjoy the benefits associated with higher travel classes. In international comparison terms, our Swiss premium-economy class is very clearly positioned as a top travel product." In addition to the 777-300ER's, Swiss's long-haul fleet includes 14 Airbus A330-300's and five A340-300's. Ten A330's and one A340 are listed as being in storage. Earlier in June, Swiss said it will decommission either five A330's or five A340's as part of its recovery from the pandemic. Swiss says that it has not decided when premium-economy seats will be installed on the rest of its long-haul fleet.

Carriers operating to and from the UK are rapidly updating their flight schedules to account for the country's latest travel restrictions, adding services to the green-list destinations of Malta, Madeira and the Balearic Islands. Wizz says it will bolster its operations to Malta, Palma and the Portuguese island of Madeira from 30 June, as it looks to capitalise on pent-up demand from leisure travellers. "We know the demand is there, and we are ready and prepared to quickly ramp up our operations for the summer," states Wizz Air UK's managing director Owain Jones. Ryanair on 25 June said it planned to add 200,000 seats to Malta, Ibiza and Palma across July, August and September, and urged the government to "immediately add equally safe destinations such as Cyprus, the Canaries & the Greek Islands [to the green list], and also to immediately allow vaccinated UK and EU citizens to travel freely between the UK and the EU without restrictions". In a similar move, EasyJet has outlined its intention to add 50,000 seats to Malta and the Balearic Islands over the course of the summer, including two new routes from Bristol and London Luton to Malta. As a result, the carrier will operate around 1 million seats to green-list destinations over the summer. "And with two thirds of UK adults expected to be double-jabbed by 19 July, now is the time to let British citizens take advantage of the success of the vaccination programme, so we urge the government to move quickly to remove quarantine and testing for fully vaccinated people travelling from amber and green countries," states EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren. "This is overdue, and unless testing is also removed flying could become the preserve of the rich again." Leisure airline Jet2 has announced additional services to Malta and Madeira as part of its wider restart on 1 July, citing "enormous pent-up demand for our flights". However, all of the new additions on the UK's green list except Malta have been caveated as being 'green watchlist' destinations, meaning they are at risk of moving from green to amber at short notice. Previous green-listed destination Israel has also now been placed on the green watchlist. UK travellers are also facing heightened travel restrictions upon arrival in many European countries. Spain says it plans to require proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test for arrivals from the UK to the Balearic islands, reports the Financial Times, while Malta will from 30 June ban entry to all UK passengers over the age of 12 unless they are double vaccinated. And Portugal – which was recently removed from the UK's green list – has announced that unvaccinated arrivals from the UK must now quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival in the country, although the rules will not apply in Madeira. Similar restrictions already apply in France, Germany and Italy. It has been reported by The Times that Germany is seeking to ban travellers from the UK entering the EU regardless of their vaccination status. This is because of the risk of spreading the Delta variant, which accounts for the vast majority of Covid-19 cases in the UK and appears to be much easier to transmit. German chancellor Angela Merkel wants to designate the UK as a “country of concern”, says The Times, although this is likely to be resisted by Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal. This comes as the recovery in airline capacity continues to build in Europe: flight hours and number of flights are surpassing the levels of summer 2020. European departing services hit seven-day averages of around 13,300 flights and 26,500 hours on 27 June, data shows the highest levels since March 2020. However, the same data for the UK shows capacity well below the levels seen last summer, as travel is impacted by the country's stringent restrictions.